Looking to buff up its already strong hold on the server processor market,
Intel Corp. announced it would soon begin shipping a more powerful version of its
Xeon processor.

The Santa Clara, Calif.-based chip-making outfit said it had accelerated its
Xeon processor for two-way servers and workstations to 2.4 gigahertz (GHz). The
processor will be made on 300 mm wafers, and have 512 kilobytes of level-two cache. The processor will cost $615 in 1,000-unit quantities.

"This will provide a little more performance for the entry-level, two-way
servers," said Nathan Brookwood of Insight64, a Silicon Valley consultancy.
He added that the extra gigahertz of power would make the choice of Xeon
over Pentium III easier.

Businesses use front-end servers for a variety of purposes, including
streaming media applications, Web hosting, and data caching. Intel said the
faster Xeon would allow companies to easily scale out their fleet of
servers.

Also, Intel said the processor's smaller die size, combined with the larger
wafers, would increase output while lowering manufacturing costs.

Intel already has a stranglehold on the processor market for servers. IDC
estimates 92 percent of all deployed front-end servers are based on Intel
chips.

Intel began manufacturing the accelerated Xeon in the past few weeks, and
shipment to customers will begin shortly. The company said manufacturers
IBM Corp. , Compaq Computer Corp. , and Dell Computer Corp. would begin shipping platforms with the new Xeon in
the coming months.